The shot heard 'round Amherst

AMHERST – Never has one shot had such an impact on an entire Calcutta than the one yesterday to wrap up the Elite Eight.

The Chieftans could have been sipping from the Chalise, other than one errant pass that found its way into enemy hands.

“The shot” opened the door for the Amigos and Catholic Boyz to keep their title hopes alive.  The Amigos can win it all with a Michigan sweep and can clinch a tie with a win in the Final Four.

The Catholic Boyz can only tie for the title and need an Illini sweep to accomplish that.

There is a rare scenario where all three can tie if Illinois beats Michigan in the final.

The Win-Docs and Counselors will continue to play looking for that natty cash and definitely will have the Chieftans riding their respective band wagons.

Let’s take a team-by-team capsule look into the weekend festivities:

Chieftans experience thrill of victory; agony of defeat all in one game

The Bunch of Chieftans looked like 9-time title holders (and could still get there) at halftime of the Duke-UConn game. What I’d give to see that group text thread. They now play leaders in the clubhouse with no dog left in the fight. Need help (or should I say “send help’).

Amigos almost pull off weekend double

At halftime on Saturday, it looked like the Amigos would be sitting chilly as Iowa continued to outkick their coverage and lead the Illini into the break. They held serve on Sunday with a powerful display by the Wolverines, but Arizona looms next weekend.

Catholic Boyz clinging to third

Purdue ran into a buzzsaw, but the Fightin Illini advance to let the Catholics see another day. You gotta be in it to win it and the Catholic Boyz have made a valiant Calcutta run. They secured a top three spot and can do no worse than third.

Counselors'
miraculous comeback – keeps them live for the natty

Need a sweep to cash – but had to be the moment of the tournament for the legal beagles.

Win-Doctors with the silent killer could take down the final

The Win-Docs get to follow for another weekend and the silent killer Arizona just keeps dismantling teams. Looking forward to the Michigan game and hoping it’s the late contest on Saturday.

Here are the eight potential scenarios and payouts:

UConn over Michigan:

Chieftans (11) - $750

Amigos (11) - $750

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Counselors - $200 

UConn over Arizona:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Counselors - $200 

Illinois over Michigan:

Catholic Boyz (11) - $800

Chieftans (11) - $600

Amigos (11) - $600  

Illinois over Arizona:

Catholic Boyz (11) - $950

Chieftans (11) - $750

Amigos (10) - $300 

Michigan over UConn:

Amigos (12) - $1,200

Chieftans (11) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300 

Michigan over Illinois:

Amigos (12) - $1,200

Chieftans (11) - $500

Catholic Boyz (10) - $300 

Arizona over UConn:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Win-Docs $200 

Arizona over Illinois:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $400

Catholic Boyz (10) - $400

Win-Docs $200

 

 

Good luck everyone!

 

Hail to the Chieftans

Record Breaking Performance by Bunch Tops 2014 Calcutta

Amazing GIF showing Aaron Harrison's game-winning shots at the same time.
Click on the picture to see the GIF.

That just about sums up the Bunch of Chieftans run to the title as the Kentucky Wildcats pulled out two big wins en route to the Championship Game only to fall to the talented and driven Huskies who took down their fourth National Championship. If you missed One Shining Moment last night you can find it here.

This sums it up for the Bunch

Records for Most Wins [16], Most Teams in Final Four [3], Most Wins in Regional Finals [5] set the record books back for years.

Let's take a look back at the Morning Line Prognosticator and see if he said anything valid:

"It was trial by fire for the newcomer, but he held his own and has the top seed in the tourney (1-Florida) who could waltz right through this thing for 6 wins which is halfway home in most years. 8-Kentucky could awaken at any moment and go on a run for Coach Cal, so it wouldn't be a bad bet to throw a few shekels at the Chieftans at those odds. Cincinnati will have to avoid the 5-12 first round upset that happens every year and 7-UConn likely has a reunion with old Big East date Villanova in the B-Lo."

Don't say so myself (other than setting putrid odds)...while not so right on Florida...not a bad comment on my old Kentucky home. Oh yeah, check out this dunk one more time.

The Bunch also grabbed their record sixth title and second outright title, as they have shared four others [see sidebar].

The Counselors. The morning line favorites did not disappoint, taking second place and hitting the board for the third straight year since the payouts were increased to the top three spots.

The Elders. Give the old guys some respect tying for the show spot. A couple bounces here or there and they are in the thick of it. Almost pulled off a record tying first round but an OT loss and a last two minute meltdown by two of its teams left them with 6 wins.  I also heard one of them was barking because they weren't getting enough press....

Wyn-Doctors. Tied for third trying to recapture the glory of old. The Docs last title was in 2010 (shared) after sweeping the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Calcutta. The reaction of the Wyn-Docs after the Elite Eight and the Bunch's cream rising to the top can only be described as...

Congrats to all who cashed and for those of us left behind....there's always next year....

Hope you enjoyed Calcutta 2014!